In the first section of the book “Shame,” we learn the story of the three sisters Shakil, Chhunni, Munnee, and Bunny, in the aftermath of their father’s death. The setting is unclear because it takes place in the 14th century, but under the Hegiran calendar, and the town is called Q, but it is “not really Pakistan.” The three sisters have a party in wake of their father’s death inside their mansion, which was abhorred by the local people for there was dancing, music and liquor being served. It was rumored that during this party, their son Omar Khayyam was conceived, but the father and mother are kept secret and the three women raise Omar as if they are each his mother. Omar grows up with a feeling of being reversed and on the periphery and learns how to hypnotize, for his whole life he has grown up with shame devoid from his life. After hypnotizing and raping Farah, Omar is sent off to medical school with a scholarship and leaves the town of Q.
III. 2 Quotes
“What’s the opposite of shame? What’s left when sharam is subtracted? That’s obvious: shamelessness.” Pg 33
The significance of this quote becomes apparent when it comes to understanding what essence Omar consists of. If his entire life, his mothers forbade him to “feel, but also embarrassment, discomfiture, decency, modesty, shyness, the sense of having an ordained place in the world,” the outcome of his personality and behavior would be disastrous, which it has already proven so when he hypnotized Farah and Hashmat Bibi. Evidently, in a society so patriarchal and conservative, three women chose to raise their son in the most unconventional lifestyle imaginable and Omar becomes a product of that rebellion against societal norms. He is both an anomaly, but also a dark and brooding character, which is I why I think the author suggests Omar is the hero with ironic undertones. This quote serves to present shame as something important, but also detrimental in a society, and Omar represents on one extreme the total absence of shame, whereas the town of Q, with its gossips and outlandish rumors, represents an overabundance of shame. Omar goes as far to suggest that Farah was probably impregnated by Eduardo Rodrigues because if Farah wanted to be with one man, that would mean she would also want to be with a second (pg 49). However, the absence of shame also serves to protect Omar against his classmates who tease him for being fat and different, as well as from the townspeople, who were going to attack Omar when he first departed from Nishapur, because they associated him with the death of Yakoob Balloch. I think the two extremes will be at war with one another as the story progresses.
“In ‘Defence,’ you can find shame in every house, burning in an ashtray, hanging framed upon a wall, covering a bed. But nobody notices it any more. And everyone is civilized.” Pg 21
This quote is significant because of its irony. Obviously, not everyone is civilized in ‘Defence,’ and I will go as far to say that shame is so ingrained in this society that no one notices it, but that does not excuse its presence. Just because people do not notice it any more, does not mean that every one is civilized in the absence of shame. Omar is a great example that would juxtapose this quote. Perhaps, because there is so much shame it has become unrecognizable by the people and in this blindness, the people perceive civility, which could not be any more ironic.
Ginger Corbett Journal #1
Ginger Corbett's Journal # 1 (pages 1-50)
Summary:
Omar Kahayyam, the illegitimate son of one of three sisters and an Angrez, grows up inside the walls of an old mansion without outside contact until the age of 12. With a distorted upbringing (he resents his 3 mother’s indulgence and neglect), Omar enters the outside world when he registers for school and is exposed to insults, judgments, and discrimination for being fatherless. A sexually curious adolescent, he is the middle of a love triangle between Eduardo and Farah. He is also an outsider in school but his ability to learn captures the attention of Eduardo Rodriguez who persuades him to pursue a medical career.
Vocabulary words:
Cohorts: a group or company: She has a cohort of admirers
Philistinism: lacking in or hostile to culture.
Inchoate: not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
Icily: in an icy manner: I received him icily because of the harsh way he had treated me.
Misogynist: one who hates women.
Gatta: wide set of steps descending to a river, esp. a river used for bathing.
Pariah: an outcast.
Canoodling: To engage in caressing, petting, or lovemaking.
Voyeur: A person who derives sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others, especially from a secret vantage point.
Quote #1:
“Wherever I turn, there is something of which to be ashamed. But shame is like everything else; live with it for long enough and it becomes part of the furniture…nobody notices anymore. And everyone is civilized” (p. 21).
It is my opinion that the author is calling into question the reader’s taken-for-granted assumptions about the surroundings in the book. Perhaps he is suggesting that one becomes desensitized to an ill-defined environment as long as it becomes part of the landscape one inhabits. He also suggests, that the process of “desensitization,” is disguised as becoming “civilized” when one learns to stop questioning the premises upon which he operates. Being that the title of the book is Shame, I suspect this paragraph is foreshadowing which direction the author will lead the reader, and perhaps guides the reader’s thinking to seek for incongruences and dissonances of the events that the author will present in the book.
Quote #2:
“Gossip is like water. It probes surfaces for their weak places, until it finds the breakthrough point; so it was only a matter of time before the good people of Q. hit upon the most shameful, scandalous explanation of all. Oh God, a grown man in love with a little child” (p. 44).
The author uses this quote to show the reader how people are willing to concoct anything in the name of gossip. The “good people” of Q. are critical and judgmental willing to relinquish reason to yield to the perverse imaginations of their minds. Willing to blame the victim (Farah) or inculpate the innocent (Eduardo), even in lack of evidence, one can help but question the nature of the “good people” of Q. Furthermore, the author cleverly questions the integrity of the people of Q., only to add credibility to their assertions later, forcing the reader to formulate his own conclusions and seek for his own answers.
Taking place during and after partition, pages 50 to 150 in Shame take the reader through Raza’s and Bilquis’ newlywed days, the births of Sufiya Zinobia (Omar’s soon to be wife) and Naveed, and the discontent dynamics of their relationship. Furthermore, the author builds the political careers of Raza as Isky against the backdrop of martial law and political turmoil that emerged after the findings of gas fields. Lastly, Rashdie foreshadows how Omar might become a hero when he develops a romantic attraction for Sufiya. Vocabulary: Palimpsest:A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible. Ululations: To utter howling sounds, as in shrill, wordless lamentation; wail. Parturition: The process of labor and delivery in the birth of a child
Names: Kundera: a Czech novelist who, like Rushdie, writes about his own country, through the construction of imaginary countries ( The Book of Laughter and Forgetting). Ayub Khan: First military leader and second President in Pakistan between 1958-1969. General Zia: Sixth president of Pakistan who took power through a coup d’etat against Prime Minister Sulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977.
Quote #1
“We who have grown up on a diet of honour and shame can still grasp what must seem unthinkable to peoples living in the aftermath of the death of God and of tragedy: that men will sacrifice their dearest love on the implacable altars of their pride” (p 119).
In this quote Rushdie explains that, to some, the perils of cultural and religious beliefs justify the condemnation, punishing, and death of dear ones in exchange of pride. While Rushdie does not exonerate them, he implies that he, having had exposure to those beliefs, is able to grasp the ideologies behind such practices. Thus, what “must seem unthinkable” to some, is conceivable to those who abide by strict notions of “honour and shame.”
Quote #2:
“I build imaginary countries and try to impose them on the ones that exist. I, too, face the problem of history: what to retain, what to dump, how to hold on to what memory insists on relinquishing, how to deal with change” (p.86).
Rushdie again interrupts the narrative of the story, to convey to the reader the predicament of being a historian and an individual subject to history. Claiming that immigrants have “commandeered the job of rewriting history,” he conveys to the reader the struggles of constructing an identity when he/she has no roots, nor memories. The “problem of history,” according to Rashdie, is that eventually one is faced with the need to sort through memories, events, hopes and dreams in order to gain a greater understanding of oneself and find one’s place in the world. Indeed, discovering what to retain or dump, according to Rushdie, is an imperative immigrants, like himself, must wrestle with if they are to establish roots in a land with a controversial past.
Patrick Horton Eng 2301W World Lit in English Journal #2 - Shame Summary: Well in two or three sentences... we covered allot! Rushdie gave us the youth, courtship, marriage, motherhood and some career progress of the Harappas and the Hyders as well as the Shakils. We also witnessed the tensions between the “stone washers and the “one god” religions (Our Muslims then migrate to the West). These chapters covered Isky’s affair with Pinky (who may represent the country of Pakistan?) and his abandonment of her in search of greatness. We also saw the death of Babar (Omar’s younger brother) at the hands of Raza, though Omar seems more interested in his love for Raza’s “idiot daughter” who has the ability to absorb the neglected shame of those around her Quote#1: The first quotes I want to discuss because I am unsure of the meaning. What is the significance of creating the image of two different “screens”? These images follow shortly behind the death of Mahmoud the woman in the movie house. Perhaps it is a suggestion of two different cultural settings (one in India and one in the Red fort surrounded by Muslims?) In the chapter titled “Behind the Screen” p63- “Raza established hi fiancé behind a screen of stone latticework, and set a young foot soldier on guard to defend her territory. Isolated behind this screen from the dull debilitating anger of the mob, Bilquis dreamed of her wedding day, defended against guilt by that old dream of queenliness.. (of the jostling crowd) envy to is a terrible thing”
p59-Mahmoud and biliquis lived in a high thin house behind the empire, “straight through the screen” As he said.
Quote#2: Do thelost eyebrows a permanent reminder of past for Bilquis? Clothing is used as a metaphor for past and cultural identity at some points. The shedding of belongings/personalities/bodies implies an attempt at the establishment of a new culture/identity. Following are a few quotes and comments that imply metaphors that are in the same vein: p86 “A returning migrant, settling down on partitioned land, forming a palimpsest on the past. A palimpsest obscures what lies beneath. To build Pakistan it was necessary to cover up Indian history, to deny that Indian centuries lay just beneath the surface of Pakistani standard time. The past was re-written; there was nothing to be done.”
p107- Isky burns an old embroidered shawl (made by Rani depicting 1000 stories probably of Iskander’s deeds) and hacks out Atiya Aurangzeb’s heart. Is Atiya a symbol for Pakistan (as she was dressed like the flag when he met her) and Iskander cuts out her heart?
p110- Isky was married to Rani, to whose body “the dupatta of womanly honor had clung, even when the clothes were torn off” Does she represent honor and the traditions of past culture, and being cheated on by Iskander, represents some of his sin against country? p136- Rushdie implies a noble cause in Babars’ guerilla participation, sheds his body like “such as cobras and playboys.” And becomes an angel. Comparison to Iskander’s transformation. p150- The city of Q for Shakil becomes a “discarded skin”. The “whore” city he has chosen to live in is a “camp for refugees”. (Pakistan is a refugee camp and Q is the culture left behind) Definitions, names and places: Excelsior- ever higher Rani- Princess Khansi- Cough The Red Fort in Agra, Dehli – Built by Mughal Empire, It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indiangovernment. http://www.exploredelhi.com/red-fort/index.html Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad and laid the foundation of Red Fort, or the Lal Quila, on 16th April 1639. It took nine years to build this mighty citadel and it got completed on 16th April 1648. It is said that about one crore rupees, an astronomical sum in those days, was spent on its construction. Half of this sum was spent to build the exotic palaces within the fort. Built of red sandstone Mohenjo- Harrapa’s home with Rani http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html Mohenjo-Daro was a city located in the south of Modern Pakistan in the Sind Province, on the right bank of the Indus River. It was built between four and five thousand years ago, and lasted until 3,700 BP. It was part of the Harrapan Civilization, and the city had at least 35,000 residents. Mohenjo-Daro means “mound of the dead”. General Hyder name origin Hyder Ali: Muslim ruler of Mysore princely state and military commander who played an important part in the wars in southern India in the mid-18th century. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/278077/Hyder-Ali Iskander and Rani’s daughter Arjumand – http://www.tajmahal.org.uk/mumtaz-mahal.html Mumtaz Mahal was the third wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It was in her memory that he built the magnificent monument of love and romance, known as the "Taj Mahal". Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian Princess, was originally known as Arjumand Banu Begum. So enthralling was her beauty that Shah Jahan (then Prince Khurram) fell in love with her at the first sight. Their marriage was solemnized five years later and from then on, started one of the most popular love stories of the world. Although she was the third wife of Shah Jahan, but at the same time, she was also his favorite. He even bestowed her with the name Mumtaz Mahal and the highest honor of the land - the royal seal, Mehr Uzaz.
palimpsest : writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased Name origin: http://islamicart.com/library/empires/india/humayun.html The Reign of Humayun, 1530-1556 Babur's eldest son and successor, Humayun, was 22 years old when his father passed away. Humayun lacked the experience and the tough fiber necessary to consolidate a new dynasty. Thus, the first decade of his rule brought a steady erosion of Mughal authority in northern India. In particular, Humayun had to deal with the determined hostility of the Afghans who were still allied with the dispossessed Lodi regime. Humayun was defeated and dislodged by insurrections of nobles from the old Lodi regime. In 1540, the Mughal domain came under the control of one of those nobles, Farid Khan Sur, who assumed the regional name of Shir Shah Sur. Humayun would spend the next 15 years in exile in Sind, Iran, and then Afghanistan. During this exile, Humayun's Persian wife, Hamida Begum, a native of Turbat-I Shaykh Jam in Khurasan, gave birth to the future emperor Akbar. Naveed- Raza and Bilquis’s second daughter and last child Naveed ♂ (Indian) Muslim name, from Persian: ‘glad tidings’ or ‘wedding invitation’. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Naveed.html
DAWOOD- DAWOOD IBRAHiM? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4775531.stm The fugitive gangster, Dawood Ibrahim, is India's most wanted man. In the 1980's and early 1990's Ibrahim became the kingpin of Mumbai's underworld, straddling a multi-billion dollar vice empire covering prostitution, gambling and drugs. Investigators say Ibrahim fled Mumbai to Dubai in 1986 to avoid criminal prosecution, but he continued to remain a key figure in the city's underworld. Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which the offspring develops from unfertilized eggs. It is particularly common amongst arthropods and rotifers, can also be found in some species of fish, amphibians, birds, and reptiles, but not in mammals. Parthenogenetic development also occurs in some plants species, such as roses and orange trees.
Randolph Scott- IMDB.com - He became one of the top box office stars of the 1950s and, in the westerns of Budd Boetticher especially, a critically important figure in the western as an art form. Following a critically acclaimed, less-heroic-than-usual role in one of the classics of the genre, Ride the High Country (1962), Scott retired from films. http://frowl.org/gods/gods.html general raza hyder’s wife - Bilquis: Bilquis, also called Bilqis or Balkis, was the legendary Queen of Sheba. In the Bible and the Koran, she met with King Solomon of Israel. Tradition also says that she bore his son, Menelik I. She was also believed to be half-jinn, and was renowned for her beauty and for her wise leadership. She was called Makeda by her own people. (Thank you, Christina!) Legend also says that she had very hairy legs, which the Bilquis of American Gods notices. "loo." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 17 Jul. 2010 <**http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1441531/loo**>. climate of Pakistan (in **Pakistan: Climate**) ...can exceed 117 °F (47 °C). Jacobabad, in Sind, has recorded the highest temperature in Pakistan, 127 °F (53 °C). In the summer, hot winds called loos blow across the plains during the day. Trees shed their leaves to avoid excessive moisture loss.
http://www.historycentral.com/Bio/people/ayub-kahn.html Ayub Kahn was educated in England and served in the British colonial army, serving as a battalion commander during World War II. After Pakistan's independence, Ayub rose to become Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Defense Forces. In 1958, he led a military coup and declared himself President. Ayub instituted extensive social reforms. The unsuccessful war with India, as well as the repressive nature of his regime, resulted in rioting and severe unrest. On March 26, 1969, he resigned.
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/11339/243/ Baloch Human Rights Council regards the killings of the Baloch politicians as the ongoing state policy of eliminating Baloch intellectual & political cream. It is the repetition of the policy which Pakistani army adopted in East Pakistan in 1971 before the independence of Bangladesh. http://www.yourdictionary.com/zenana ze·nana (ze nä′nə) - noun in India and Iran, the part of the house reserved for women Aurangzeb- one of 4 sons of Mughal Emperor , Shah Jahan http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/2022588 Miangul Aurangzeb, the last Wali Ahad of Swat State, was born May 28, 1928 in Saidu Sharif. He has served in the National Assembly of Pakistan as well as the Governor of Balochistan and later as Governor of the North-West Frontier Province. Miangul Aurangzeb was the heir apparent Wali Ahad to his father, Miangul Jahanzeb the last Wali of Swat State
Dictionary.com - macrophages–nounCell Biology. a large white blood cell, occurring principally in connective tissue and in the bloodstream, that ingests foreign particles and infectious microorganisms by phagocytosis. Polymorphs –noun - Biology. an organism having more than one adult form, as the different castes in social ants. Khayyam- 1048 - 1131. poet, mathematician, philosopher. Iranian. Possibly came up with heliocentric theory before Copernicus. Edward Fitzgerald translated his works and made him famous in the West. Translations merited with adding to beauty. House named "Nishpur"- Nishpur- Province in N.E. Iran known for agriculture and fertile land. Kotdigi- for-runner to Indus civilization- 3000bc Zeenat Kabuli character name derived from: Zeenat 1637-1702- name of daughter to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sister, Zeb-un-nisa famed for poetry who'se tomb was originally in the garden of "thirty thousand trees" outside theKabuligate. Some say Zeb-un-nisa had secret relationship with governor of Lahore named Aqil Kahn Razi but unfounded. Omar’s brother named Babar: First Emperor of Mughals- Marched over mountains and conquered all he came upon. Opposite of Omar’s fears regarding bordering mountains.
Journal Entry #1
Jessica Brown
ENG 2301 W
7/22/10
I. Vocabulary
Peregrinations
Indolently
Languorous
Enigmatic
Denuding
Sahib
Imperious
Hauteur
Sequestration
Improvidence
Prosaic
II. Summary
In the first section of the book “Shame,” we learn the story of the three sisters Shakil, Chhunni, Munnee, and Bunny, in the aftermath of their father’s death. The setting is unclear because it takes place in the 14th century, but under the Hegiran calendar, and the town is called Q, but it is “not really Pakistan.” The three sisters have a party in wake of their father’s death inside their mansion, which was abhorred by the local people for there was dancing, music and liquor being served. It was rumored that during this party, their son Omar Khayyam was conceived, but the father and mother are kept secret and the three women raise Omar as if they are each his mother. Omar grows up with a feeling of being reversed and on the periphery and learns how to hypnotize, for his whole life he has grown up with shame devoid from his life. After hypnotizing and raping Farah, Omar is sent off to medical school with a scholarship and leaves the town of Q.
III. 2 Quotes
“What’s the opposite of shame? What’s left when sharam is subtracted? That’s obvious: shamelessness.” Pg 33
The significance of this quote becomes apparent when it comes to understanding what essence Omar consists of. If his entire life, his mothers forbade him to “feel, but also embarrassment, discomfiture, decency, modesty, shyness, the sense of having an ordained place in the world,” the outcome of his personality and behavior would be disastrous, which it has already proven so when he hypnotized Farah and Hashmat Bibi. Evidently, in a society so patriarchal and conservative, three women chose to raise their son in the most unconventional lifestyle imaginable and Omar becomes a product of that rebellion against societal norms. He is both an anomaly, but also a dark and brooding character, which is I why I think the author suggests Omar is the hero with ironic undertones. This quote serves to present shame as something important, but also detrimental in a society, and Omar represents on one extreme the total absence of shame, whereas the town of Q, with its gossips and outlandish rumors, represents an overabundance of shame. Omar goes as far to suggest that Farah was probably impregnated by Eduardo Rodrigues because if Farah wanted to be with one man, that would mean she would also want to be with a second (pg 49). However, the absence of shame also serves to protect Omar against his classmates who tease him for being fat and different, as well as from the townspeople, who were going to attack Omar when he first departed from Nishapur, because they associated him with the death of Yakoob Balloch. I think the two extremes will be at war with one another as the story progresses.
“In ‘Defence,’ you can find shame in every house, burning in an ashtray, hanging framed upon a wall, covering a bed. But nobody notices it any more. And everyone is civilized.” Pg 21
This quote is significant because of its irony. Obviously, not everyone is civilized in ‘Defence,’ and I will go as far to say that shame is so ingrained in this society that no one notices it, but that does not excuse its presence. Just because people do not notice it any more, does not mean that every one is civilized in the absence of shame. Omar is a great example that would juxtapose this quote. Perhaps, because there is so much shame it has become unrecognizable by the people and in this blindness, the people perceive civility, which could not be any more ironic.
Ginger Corbett
Journal #1
Ginger Corbett's Journal # 1 (pages 1-50)
Summary:
Omar Kahayyam, the illegitimate son of one of three sisters and an Angrez, grows up inside the walls of an old mansion without outside contact until the age of 12. With a distorted upbringing (he resents his 3 mother’s indulgence and neglect), Omar enters the outside world when he registers for school and is exposed to insults, judgments, and discrimination for being fatherless. A sexually curious adolescent, he is the middle of a love triangle between Eduardo and Farah. He is also an outsider in school but his ability to learn captures the attention of Eduardo Rodriguez who persuades him to pursue a medical career.
Vocabulary words:
Cohorts: a group or company: She has a cohort of admirers
Philistinism: lacking in or hostile to culture.
Inchoate: not yet completed or fully developed; rudimentary.
Icily: in an icy manner: I received him icily because of the harsh way he had treated me.
Misogynist: one who hates women.
Gatta: wide set of steps descending to a river, esp. a river used for bathing.
Pariah: an outcast.
Canoodling: To engage in caressing, petting, or lovemaking.
Voyeur: A person who derives sexual gratification from observing the naked bodies or sexual acts of others, especially from a secret vantage point.
Quote #1:
“Wherever I turn, there is something of which to be ashamed. But shame is like everything else; live with it for long enough and it becomes part of the furniture…nobody notices anymore. And everyone is civilized” (p. 21).
It is my opinion that the author is calling into question the reader’s taken-for-granted assumptions about the surroundings in the book. Perhaps he is suggesting that one becomes desensitized to an ill-defined environment as long as it becomes part of the landscape one inhabits. He also suggests, that the process of “desensitization,” is disguised as becoming “civilized” when one learns to stop questioning the premises upon which he operates. Being that the title of the book is Shame, I suspect this paragraph is foreshadowing which direction the author will lead the reader, and perhaps guides the reader’s thinking to seek for incongruences and dissonances of the events that the author will present in the book.
Quote #2:
“Gossip is like water. It probes surfaces for their weak places, until it finds the breakthrough point; so it was only a matter of time before the good people of Q. hit upon the most shameful, scandalous explanation of all. Oh God, a grown man in love with a little child” (p. 44).
The author uses this quote to show the reader how people are willing to concoct anything in the name of gossip. The “good people” of Q. are critical and judgmental willing to relinquish reason to yield to the perverse imaginations of their minds. Willing to blame the victim (Farah) or inculpate the innocent (Eduardo), even in lack of evidence, one can help but question the nature of the “good people” of Q. Furthermore, the author cleverly questions the integrity of the people of Q., only to add credibility to their assertions later, forcing the reader to formulate his own conclusions and seek for his own answers.
Ginger Corbett’s Journal # 2 (pages 50-150)
Plot Summary:
Taking place during and after partition, pages 50 to 150 in Shame take the reader through Raza’s and Bilquis’ newlywed days, the births of Sufiya Zinobia (Omar’s soon to be wife) and Naveed, and the discontent dynamics of their relationship. Furthermore, the author builds the political careers of Raza as Isky against the backdrop of martial law and political turmoil that emerged after the findings of gas fields. Lastly, Rashdie foreshadows how Omar might become a hero when he develops a romantic attraction for Sufiya.
Vocabulary:
Palimpsest: A manuscript, typically of papyrus or parchment, that has been written on more than once, with the earlier writing incompletely erased and often legible.
Ululations: To utter howling sounds, as in shrill, wordless lamentation; wail.
Parturition: The process of labor and delivery in the birth of a child
Names:
Kundera: a Czech novelist who, like Rushdie, writes about his own country, through the construction of imaginary countries ( The Book of Laughter and Forgetting).
Ayub Khan: First military leader and second President in Pakistan between 1958-1969.
General Zia: Sixth president of Pakistan who took power through a coup d’etat against Prime Minister Sulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1977.
Quote #1
“We who have grown up on a diet of honour and shame can still grasp what must seem unthinkable to peoples living in the aftermath of the death of God and of tragedy: that men will sacrifice their dearest love on the implacable altars of their pride” (p 119).
In this quote Rushdie explains that, to some, the perils of cultural and religious beliefs justify the condemnation, punishing, and death of dear ones in exchange of pride. While Rushdie does not exonerate them, he implies that he, having had exposure to those beliefs, is able to grasp the ideologies behind such practices. Thus, what “must seem unthinkable” to some, is conceivable to those who abide by strict notions of “honour and shame.”
Quote #2:
“I build imaginary countries and try to impose them on the ones that exist. I, too, face the problem of history: what to retain, what to dump, how to hold on to what memory insists on relinquishing, how to deal with change” (p.86).
Rushdie again interrupts the narrative of the story, to convey to the reader the predicament of being a historian and an individual subject to history. Claiming that immigrants have “commandeered the job of rewriting history,” he conveys to the reader the struggles of constructing an identity when he/she has no roots, nor memories. The “problem of history,” according to Rashdie, is that eventually one is faced with the need to sort through memories, events, hopes and dreams in order to gain a greater understanding of oneself and find one’s place in the world. Indeed, discovering what to retain or dump, according to Rushdie, is an imperative immigrants, like himself, must wrestle with if they are to establish roots in a land with a controversial past.
Patrick Horton
Eng 2301W
World Lit in English
Journal #2 - Shame
Summary: Well in two or three sentences... we covered allot! Rushdie gave us the youth, courtship, marriage, motherhood and some career progress of the Harappas and the Hyders as well as the Shakils. We also witnessed the tensions between the “stone washers and the “one god” religions (Our Muslims then migrate to the West). These chapters covered Isky’s affair with Pinky (who may represent the country of Pakistan?) and his abandonment of her in search of greatness. We also saw the death of Babar (Omar’s younger brother) at the hands of Raza, though Omar seems more interested in his love for Raza’s “idiot daughter” who has the ability to absorb the neglected shame of those around her
Quote#1: The first quotes I want to discuss because I am unsure of the meaning. What is the significance of creating the image of two different “screens”? These images follow shortly behind the death of Mahmoud the woman in the movie house. Perhaps it is a suggestion of two different cultural settings (one in India and one in the Red fort surrounded by Muslims?)
In the chapter titled “Behind the Screen”
p63- “Raza established hi fiancé behind a screen of stone latticework, and set a young foot soldier on guard to defend her territory. Isolated behind this screen from the dull debilitating anger of the mob, Bilquis dreamed of her wedding day, defended against guilt by that old dream of queenliness.. (of the jostling crowd) envy to is a terrible thing”
p59-Mahmoud and biliquis lived in a high thin house behind the empire, “straight through the screen” As he said.
Quote#2: Do the lost eyebrows a permanent reminder of past for Bilquis? Clothing is used as a metaphor for past and cultural identity at some points. The shedding of belongings/personalities/bodies implies an attempt at the establishment of a new culture/identity.
Following are a few quotes and comments that imply metaphors that are in the same vein:
p86 “A returning migrant, settling down on partitioned land, forming a palimpsest on the past. A palimpsest obscures what lies beneath. To build Pakistan it was necessary to cover up Indian history, to deny that Indian centuries lay just beneath the surface of Pakistani standard time. The past was re-written; there was nothing to be done.”
p107- Isky burns an old embroidered shawl (made by Rani depicting 1000 stories probably of Iskander’s deeds) and hacks out Atiya Aurangzeb’s heart. Is Atiya a symbol for Pakistan (as she was dressed like the flag when he met her) and Iskander cuts out her heart?
p110- Isky was married to Rani, to whose body “the dupatta of womanly honor had clung, even when the clothes were torn off”
Does she represent honor and the traditions of past culture, and being cheated on by Iskander, represents some of his sin against country?
p136- Rushdie implies a noble cause in Babars’ guerilla participation, sheds his body like “such as cobras and playboys.” And becomes an angel. Comparison to Iskander’s transformation.
p150- The city of Q for Shakil becomes a “discarded skin”. The “whore” city he has chosen to live in is a “camp for refugees”. (Pakistan is a refugee camp and Q is the culture left behind)
Definitions, names and places:
Excelsior- ever higher
Rani- Princess
Khansi- Cough
The Red Fort in Agra, Dehli – Built by Mughal Empire, It served as the capital of the Mughals until 1857, when Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar was exiled by the British Indiangovernment.
http://www.exploredelhi.com/red-fort/index.html
Shah Jahan shifted his capital from Agra to Shahjahanabad and laid the foundation of Red Fort, or the Lal Quila, on 16th April 1639. It took nine years to build this mighty citadel and it got completed on 16th April 1648. It is said that about one crore rupees, an astronomical sum in those days, was spent on its construction. Half of this sum was spent to build the exotic palaces within the fort. Built of red sandstone
Mohenjo- Harrapa’s home with Rani
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/archaeology/sites/middle_east/mohenjo_daro.html
Mohenjo-Daro was a city located in the south of Modern Pakistan in the Sind Province, on the right bank of the Indus River. It was built between four and five thousand years ago, and lasted until 3,700 BP. It was part of the Harrapan Civilization, and the city had at least 35,000 residents. Mohenjo-Daro means “mound of the dead”.
General Hyder name origin Hyder Ali: Muslim ruler of Mysore princely state and military commander who played an important part in the wars in southern India in the mid-18th century.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/278077/Hyder-Ali
Iskander and Rani’s daughter Arjumand –
http://www.tajmahal.org.uk/mumtaz-mahal.html
Mumtaz Mahal was the third wife of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. It was in her memory that he built the magnificent monument of love and romance, known as the "Taj Mahal". Mumtaz Mahal, a Muslim Persian Princess, was originally known as Arjumand Banu Begum. So enthralling was her beauty that Shah Jahan (then Prince Khurram) fell in love with her at the first sight. Their marriage was solemnized five years later and from then on, started one of the most popular love stories of the world. Although she was the third wife of Shah Jahan, but at the same time, she was also his favorite. He even bestowed her with the name Mumtaz Mahal and the highest honor of the land - the royal seal, Mehr Uzaz.
palimpsest : writing material (as a parchment or tablet) used one or more times after earlier writing has been erased
Name origin:
http://islamicart.com/library/empires/india/humayun.html
The Reign of Humayun, 1530-1556
Babur's eldest son and successor, Humayun, was 22 years old when his father passed away. Humayun lacked the experience and the tough fiber necessary to consolidate a new dynasty. Thus, the first decade of his rule brought a steady erosion of Mughal authority in northern India. In particular, Humayun had to deal with the determined hostility of the Afghans who were still allied with the dispossessed Lodi regime.
Humayun was defeated and dislodged by insurrections of nobles from the old Lodi regime. In 1540, the Mughal domain came under the control of one of those nobles, Farid Khan Sur, who assumed the regional name of Shir Shah Sur. Humayun would spend the next 15 years in exile in Sind, Iran, and then Afghanistan. During this exile, Humayun's Persian wife, Hamida Begum, a native of Turbat-I Shaykh Jam in Khurasan, gave birth to the future emperor Akbar.
Naveed- Raza and Bilquis’s second daughter and last child
Naveed ♂ (Indian) Muslim name, from Persian: ‘glad tidings’ or ‘wedding invitation’.
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Naveed.html
Raza arrested chief minister Gichki-
Gichki (Urdu: گچکی ) is a Baloch tribe in Balochistan, Pakistan.
http://dictionary.sensagent.com/gichki/en-en/
MAULANA DAWOOD
Maulana [mɔːˈlɑːnɑː] - n
(in Pakistan, India, etc.) a title used for a scholar of Persian and Arabic
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Maulana
DAWOOD- DAWOOD IBRAHiM?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4775531.stm
The fugitive gangster, Dawood Ibrahim, is India's most wanted man.
In the 1980's and early 1990's Ibrahim became the kingpin of Mumbai's underworld, straddling a multi-billion dollar vice empire covering prostitution, gambling and drugs.
Investigators say Ibrahim fled Mumbai to Dubai in 1986 to avoid criminal prosecution, but he continued to remain a key figure in the city's underworld.
Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction in which the offspring develops from unfertilized eggs. It is particularly common amongst arthropods and rotifers, can also be found in some species of fish, amphibians, birds, and reptiles, but not in mammals. Parthenogenetic development also occurs in some plants species, such as roses and orange trees.
Randolph Scott- IMDB.com - He became one of the top box office stars of the 1950s and, in the westerns of Budd Boetticher especially, a critically important figure in the western as an art form. Following a critically acclaimed, less-heroic-than-usual role in one of the classics of the genre, Ride the High Country (1962), Scott retired from films.
http://frowl.org/gods/gods.html
general raza hyder’s wife - Bilquis:
Bilquis, also called Bilqis or Balkis, was the legendary Queen of Sheba. In the Bible and the Koran, she met with King Solomon of Israel. Tradition also says that she bore his son, Menelik I. She was also believed to be half-jinn, and was renowned for her beauty and for her wise leadership. She was called Makeda by her own people. (Thank you, Christina!) Legend also says that she had very hairy legs, which the Bilquis of American Gods notices.
"loo." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. 17 Jul. 2010 <**http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1441531/loo**>.
climate of Pakistan (in **Pakistan: Climate**)
...can exceed 117 °F (47 °C). Jacobabad, in Sind, has recorded the highest temperature in Pakistan, 127 °F (53 °C). In the summer, hot winds called loos blow across the plains during the day. Trees shed their leaves to avoid excessive moisture loss.
http://www.historycentral.com/Bio/people/ayub-kahn.html
Ayub Kahn was educated in England and served in the British colonial army, serving as a battalion commander during World War II. After Pakistan's independence, Ayub rose to become Commander-in-Chief of the Pakistani Defense Forces. In 1958, he led a military coup and declared himself President. Ayub instituted extensive social reforms. The unsuccessful war with India, as well as the repressive nature of his regime, resulted in rioting and severe unrest. On March 26, 1969, he resigned.
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/11339/243/
Baloch Human Rights Council regards the killings of the Baloch politicians as the ongoing state policy of eliminating Baloch intellectual & political cream. It is the repetition of the policy which Pakistani army adopted in East Pakistan in 1971 before the independence of Bangladesh.
http://www.yourdictionary.com/zenana
ze·nana (ze nä′nə) - noun
in India and Iran, the part of the house reserved for women
Aurangzeb- one of 4 sons of Mughal Emperor , Shah Jahan
http://en.academic.ru/dic.nsf/enwiki/2022588
Miangul Aurangzeb, the last Wali Ahad of Swat State, was born May 28, 1928 in Saidu Sharif. He has served in the National Assembly of Pakistan as well as the Governor of Balochistan and later as Governor of the North-West Frontier Province.
Miangul Aurangzeb was the heir apparent Wali Ahad to his father, Miangul Jahanzeb the last Wali of Swat State
Dictionary.com - macrophages–noun Cell Biology .
a large white blood cell, occurring principally in connective tissue and in the bloodstream, that ingests foreign particles and infectious microorganisms by phagocytosis.
Polymorphs –noun - Biology . an organism having more than one adult form, as the different castes in social ants.
Khayyam- 1048 - 1131. poet, mathematician, philosopher. Iranian. Possibly came up with heliocentric theory before Copernicus. Edward Fitzgerald translated his works and made him famous in the West. Translations merited with adding to beauty.
House named "Nishpur"- Nishpur- Province in N.E. Iran known for agriculture and fertile land.
Kotdigi- for-runner to Indus civilization- 3000bc
Zeenat Kabuli character name derived from:
Zeenat 1637-1702- name of daughter to Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sister, Zeb-un-nisa famed for poetry who'se tomb was originally in the garden of "thirty thousand trees" outside theKabuli gate. Some say Zeb-un-nisa had secret relationship with governor of Lahore named Aqil Kahn Razi but unfounded.
Omar’s brother named Babar: First Emperor of Mughals- Marched over mountains and conquered all he came upon. Opposite of Omar’s fears regarding bordering mountains.